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Editor's opinion

Is this fair play?

Vandebilt Catholic girls head basketball coach Kathy Luke (left) comforts senior Jasmine Howard after the Lady Terriers were informed they could not play in Friday's playoff game.

Chris Heller/Staff

Keith MagillExecutive Editor

Published: Saturday, March 2, 2013 at 4:54 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, March 2, 2013 at 4:54 p.m.

I'm still trying to understand some of the details surrounding the fiasco that led to Vandebilt Catholic High's ouster from Friday's girls basketball playoffs.

For now, one thing is clear: The student athletes are the ones suffering the biggest loss. And not just the Lady Terriers but at least two other teams thrust into difficult circumstances by the adults who are supposed to look out for their best interests.

The chaos started Wednesday after Louisiana High School Athletic Association Director Kenny Henderson ruled that sophomore Jewel Triggs, who lived in Thibodaux, violated transfer rules in her move to the Houma school, something her parents and their attorney dispute.

The Courier and Daily Comet are still trying to get answers to some of the questions that remain after the whirlwind of accusations, decisions by the athletic association and judges' rulings that followed.

But unless somebody produces compelling evidence that hasn't already been aired — something that remains a possibility — it sure looks like the right team, Salmen of Slidell, played the disputed playoff game against St. Michael.

Here's why: The athletic association, not the courts, has the final say in the matter. Am I missing something here? I can't see where any state laws were at issue in this eligibility dispute. So what legal justification would a court have for intervening?

I'm not sure why Judge George Larke of Houma ruled otherwise Thursday. He granted Triggs' parents a temporary restraining order that blocked the athletic association's action. That would have thrust Vandebilt back into the playoffs.

The association asked Larke to reconsider Friday, and he refused. So the organization appealed to a Baton Rouge court, which overturned Larke's order hours later. Why? Because, it said, this is the association's business, not the courts'.

And that is the case even if you think the association's director made a bad decision in ruling Triggs ineligible or ousting Vandy from the playoffs as a result. If the parents or anyone else want to appeal, the place to take their grievances is the association and its Executive Committee, not the courts.

Now, I realize things are not so clear-cut, especially when emotions understandably intervene. And the timeframe for anyone seeking redress was short between Wednesday's decision and Friday's playoff game. I suspect Triggs' parents and their attorney, Jay Luke, who is also the husband of Lady Terriers basketball coach Kathy Luke, were fighting for what they thought was right and doing everything in their power to defend a girl's honor, help her pursue a goal she had worked so hard to achieve and secure Vandy's spot in the playoffs. That's a noble cause.

But what's sad is that so many young athletes got hurt in the process.

Amid Friday's legal wrangling and uncertainty, Henderson instructed both Vandy and Salmen to head to Hammond, knowing that, at best, only one of the teams would play. St. Michael, meanwhile, had no idea which team to prepare for. Minutes before the game, as Vandy prepared to warm up, the girls were ordered off the court so Salmen could replace them. Salmen ended up defeating St. Michael 63-34, taking a step in its journey toward the state championship

I'm not interested, at least for now, in casting blame. Vandebilt's administration, in a statement released by the Catholic Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, admitted it messed up in doing the due diligence necessary to ensure Triggs followed the association's eligibility guidelines. And the school did not appeal Henderson's original ruling that ousted the Lady Terriers from the playoffs.

Fine.

Now, what can we learn from this unfortunate mess?

I don't know any of those involved personally, but I suspect they care deeply about the student athletes. And any good parent has his or her child's best interests at heart. I suspect everyone was doing what he or she thought was right by the kids, the schools and the association.

It's easy to question in hindsight, but couldn't this dispute have been settled a little earlier? Was it really necessary to drag it out until, literally, the last minute, guaranteeing tears for many young athletes who had no direct involvement or culpability?

Anyone who cares about these young athletes, the kids whom parents, schools and the association so often say they support, will take actions to ensure nothing like this happens again.

Courier and Daily Comet Executive Editor Keith Magill can be reached at 857-2201 or

keith.magill@houmatoday.com.

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